Sign Post Forest in Watson Lake Yukon Territory

Sign Post Forest, Watson Lake, Yukon

If you are heading up the Alaska Highway, this is one of those stops that looks small on the map and then swallows an hour of your day in the best way.

The Sign Post Forest sits right in Watson Lake, Yukon, at the junction of the Alaska Highway and the Robert Campbell Highway. What started as one homesick soldier’s extra sign is now a whole grove of posts covered in license plates, street signs, handmade boards, and messages from just about everywhere.

In 1942, while the Alaska Highway was being punched through, U.S. Army Private Carl K. Lindley of Company D, 341st Engineers was laid up in Watson Lake after an injury. His commanding officer asked him to repair the camp mileage post. Lindley added his own hometown: Danville, Illinois. Other soldiers followed. Travelers never stopped. Today there are tens of thousands of signs — some counts put it well over 80,000 — and the town keeps adding posts as they fill up.

I stood under that wooden “WATSON LAKE YUKON — THE WORLD FAMOUS SIGN POST FOREST” arch and just looked up. You can spend a long time reading plates from Florida, Germany, Kentucky, Alaska, little towns you have never heard of. It is part roadside attraction, part guest book for the whole north.

Last time through we were on the go-go-go Alaska run. Watson Lake and Dawson City were two of my favourite stretches of that trip, and we still did not give them enough time. I want to get back. I want a slower morning here, time to walk the rows properly, maybe nail up a sign of our own, then keep going north toward Dawson without watching the clock the whole way.

If you stop:

• It is free and right in town. Easy pull-off for trucks and RVs.
• Bring a sign if you have one, or make something at the Visitor Information Centre next door.
• The Alaska Highway Interpretive Centre is close if you want the construction story behind the first post.
• Give it more than ten minutes. The forest only works if you wander.

A very short clip from this stop is below. Blogger’s upload limit is tight these days, so it is just a taste. The longer look will live on the KassDays YouTube channel.

Watson Lake is not a place you tick off. It is a place that keeps collecting people. Next time I want to be one of the ones who stayed long enough to read more than the first row of signs.

See you on the road.

Kass
KassDays

NWT From North of 60 to Home in Calgary: The Beautiful Final Drive

 

 

The Drive from Hay River to Calgary 

What a way to wrap up an unforgettable month up North!  This epic 1,350 KM road journey from Hay River, Northwest Territories back to Calgary captures everything we love about Canadian road trips. 

 

Starting strong “North of 60,” the drive winds through misty boreal forests thick with evergreens and that wild, rugged northern energy. Then, as you head south, the landscape transforms — opening up into sweeping golden prairies and endless big Alberta skies that stretch forever.  

One of the real highlights? Crossing those charming old wooden deck bridges. They rattle just enough to remind you you’re on a real adventure, connecting remote roads with history and heart. The light shifting across the trees, the open road ahead, and that deep feeling of freedom — it’s pure beauty on wheels.  

Whether you’re a fellow road trip lover, dreaming of your own northern escape, or just enjoying the views from home, this drive is a reminder of how stunning Canada really is when you take the long way home.  

Full 4K vlog is live and waiting for you: https://youtu.be/F82ktlAERiI  

 

Drop a comment and let us know — what’s your favourite part of a long Canadian road trip?